January 12, 1922 



The Rorists^ Review 



29 



THE RETAIL STORE 



A PAGE OF HINTS AND HELPS 

 FOR THE RETAIL FLORIST 



WIENHOEBEB ON EOUIi. MICH. 



A Store Without Its Like. 



Beal estate values, and consequently 

 rentals, are rising on North Michigan 

 avenue, Chicago 's Fifth avenue, while 

 they are being depressed elsewhere by 

 the readjustment of business and of 

 commodity prices. The opening of the 

 boulevard link bridge has caused a boom 

 in real estate on North Michigan 

 avenue for the highest class of specialty 

 shops. If such shops find the location 

 profitable at high rentals, why not a 

 florist? So reasoned George Wienhoe- 

 ber, who has previously manifested an 

 inclination for doing those things which 

 keep him in the forefront of Chicago 

 retailers. 



So it was that December 29 he opened 

 a store at 28 North Michigan avenue 

 which is probably unlike any other 

 flower store of a similar class in the 

 country. It has received considerable 

 mention in the real estate columns of 

 the daily papers as "the store without 

 a door." 



A private alley running west 110 

 feet from Michigan avenue, between 

 the People's Trust & Savings Bank 

 building, which sftinds on the corner of 

 Washington street, and the fancy gro- 

 cery store of Tiferfietts & Garland, was 

 recently closed. The space thereby 

 made available for building operations 

 was only ten feet wide, not sufficient 

 to appeal to many merchants, but Mr. 

 Wienhoeber, saw the opportunity it pre- 

 sented. He secured a lease for seven 

 years at a term rental of $63,200, or 

 something like $750 per month. To 

 draw the plans for him, he secured the 

 services of Jarvis Hunt, whose reputa- 

 tion as an architect is international. 

 The result of his genius and of the 

 ideas of Mr. WiGnhoebcr is a store 

 quite out of the ordinary. 



Window and Its Frame. 



The masonry in the front, which is 

 to be seen in the illustration on this 

 page, is entirely of verd antique, an 

 imported veined green marble, which is 

 a striking frame for the large plate- 

 glass window, which composes prac- 

 tically the entire store front. The win- 

 dow displays are extraordinary in them- 

 selves, the space being always filled 

 with quantities of bright flowers of the 

 finest quality. A row of nine lights, 

 at the top of the glass, throws directly 

 down a flood of light. The result is 

 that, whether the day is bright or 

 cloudy, the window stands out as a 

 spot of brilliant color, in the green 

 marble frame, which gets the attention 

 of every passer-by on the boulevard, 

 whether pedestrian or motorist — and 

 there is a constant and heavy stream of 

 each. 



The drawing power of the window 

 has been enhanced by provision for the 

 most effective lighting. Transparent 

 coverings have been made for each lamp 



reflector in the window, and any one of 

 ten different colors may be thrown on 

 the flowers below. By using a screen 

 of one color on some lights and of an- 

 other color on other lights, a mixture 

 manifold in variety may be employed. 



Merely for advertising purposes, this 

 space is, in the opinion of Mr. Wienhoe- 

 ber, fully worth the high rental. Of 

 course, in this location signboard space 

 is not to be had, but a few blocks 

 farther north, in a less desirable place, 

 the rental of a single signboard on the 

 boulevard ranges from $200 to twice 

 that sum. And no signboard could ad- 

 vertise flowers or a florist so strikingly 

 and so effectively as this window does. 



The Side Entrance. 



The name, "The store without a 

 door," was derived from the fact that 



there is no entrance to the shop from 

 the front. Admittance is obtained 

 through a doorway leading off the en- 

 trance to the People 's Trust & Savings 

 Bank building, on the right. The door- 

 way is just at the back of the window 

 display space, which is protected from 

 the gusts that may accompany entrance 

 of a customer, by a plate-glass partition, 

 the framework of which, in white, may 

 be seen at the right through the win- 

 dow. When one has entered the shop, he 

 obtains a view like that shown Jn the 

 illustration on tlie following page.' The 

 white terrazzo floor is covered by two 

 oriental runners. Opposite the door is 

 a nook occupied by statuary, as seen 

 in the illustration. Along each wall 

 run mirrors, and a shelf at the usual 

 height of a counter, composed of heavy 

 slabs of verd antique, holds, flowering 



This Is ''The Store Without a Door/' on Michigan Avenue, Chicago. 



